Spain’s Second Republic: Rise, Reforms, and Civil War
The Fall of the Monarchy and the Proclamation of the Second Republic
Following the resignation of Primo de Rivera on January 28, 1930, the new government chaired by General Berenguer sought a return to constitutional normalcy. The monarchy was challenged due to its behavior during the dictatorship.
Republicans, along with the Socialists, presented themselves as the only truly refreshing force. They demanded a constitutional process to achieve a republican state and recognized the right of Catalonia to an autonomous status. Due to Berenguer’s refusal to grant these requests, the Republicans resorted to conspiracies, such as the insurrection of Jaca (December 1930).
The new government, headed by Admiral Aznar, agreed to hold municipal elections in April 1931. The Republican victory in the big cities meant the fall of the monarchy. On April 13th, the crowds began to take to the streets.
In the early hours of April 14, the City of Eibar proclaimed the Republic. By midday, it had extended to Sevilla, Valencia, Zaragoza, and Barcelona. King Alfonso XIII went into exile.
The first republican government was formed by a coalition of right-wing Catholic Republicans, center-left Republicans, Socialists, and Catalan and Galician nationalists.
The Constitutional Period
The Provisional Government agreed to convene a Constituent Assembly. The first conflict came early with the burning of convents and the curtailment of privileges of the Church. The Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution ahead of its time. It was adopted on December 9, 1931:
- Single Chamber
- Universal suffrage was extended to women and men
- The state was “integral”, not federal, but it offered the opportunity to “regions” to gain autonomy
- Individual rights were recognized
- The government could seize property deemed of public utility
Alcalá Zamora was elected President of the Republic. Azaña chaired the government formed by Republicans, Socialists, and nationalists.
The Reformist Biennium
A series of radical reforms sought the separation of church and state, modernization of the military, decentralization of the state to satisfy the nationalists, and the redistribution of land.
a) The Question of Religion: The separation of church and state. Successive decrees dissolved the Jesuits, confiscated their estates, and established civil marriage and divorce. The Congregations Law of 1933 prohibited the Church and religious orders from teaching.
b) Modernization of the Army: Army reform, due to Azaña, sought a demilitarized regime by reducing the role of the armed forces to external defense. The opposition was highlighted by a failed coup by General Sanjurjo in August 1932.
d) The Agrarian Question: In the decade of the 1930s, the importance of the primary sector was considerable. There was a large number of large estates. To address the land problem, a series of decrees were promulgated that sought to protect tenants and landless peasants.
The Land Reform Act: The purpose of the law was not an agrarian revolution or collectivization of the land, but its goals were more modest. The law allowed for expropriation without compensation only of the lands of the grandees of Spain.
The Right Biennium
a) The Crisis of the Republican-Socialist Coalition:
Throughout 1933, the political wear of the reformist biennium became increasingly obvious. Major groups of the middle classes moved to the right. Moreover, the ineffectiveness of in-depth reforms that would improve the living conditions of the urban and agricultural proletariat dismissed government support. Thus, sooner or later, left-wing forces were radicalized. Alcalá Zamora accepted the resignation of Azaña and dissolved the Parliament in October 1933. In the elections on November 18, with a disillusioned and disengaged left and the abstention of large masses of workers, the center-right reached a parliamentary majority.
b) The Right Step: November 19, 1933 – December 29, 1935:
Alcalá Zamora appointed Lerroux head of a government composed only of radicals but with the support of the monarchists and the CEDA. Soon began the liquidation of the work done in the previous biennium.
The October Revolution of 1934: Asturias and Catalonia
The arrival of members of the CEDA to the government was interpreted by left-wing forces as an open road to fascism. The day after the formation of the new government, there were general strikes in the large cities that failed due to lack of coordination and the strong response of the government. Despite this, in Catalonia and Asturias, events of special importance occurred.
In Catalonia, Lluís Companys, President of the Generalitat, chose to lead the insurrection and proclaimed on October 6 l’Estat Català (Catalan state) within the Spanish Federal Republic. Senior executives were arrested.
In Asturias, the labor movement lasted several days, creating a truly revolutionary situation. Anarchists, communists, and socialists took over the mining area and seized weapons. The movement was crushed, after stiff resistance, by the army on October 17.
Consequences
a) It was a prelude to civil war. b) 1,000 miners were killed, about 2,000 were injured, and 300 soldiers or guards were killed. Thousands were detained. c) The influence of the CEDA in the government increased. In December 1935, Alcalá Zamora decided to hold elections in February 1936.
The Popular Front
During the decade of the 1930s, a political union of the liberal and left-wing forces was consolidated in Europe to counter a growing and threatening fascism. These broad fronts were called popular fronts.
For the elections of February 1936, a Popular Front was formed with Republicans (IR, UR), Socialists (PSOE, UGT), and Communists. The Popular Front program was reformist. The right began the campaign disjointed, but soon saw the need to form alliances, forming the National Front, which did not have a general character. The Spanish Falange presented their own candidates.
The Elections of February 1936
Election results foreshadowed the two Spains that would fight in the next war. The Popular Front, even though it obtained a lower vote count, achieved a comfortable parliamentary majority. The new government was formed by the Republican Left (Izquierda Republicana and Republican Union), as envisaged in the Popular Front program. The Socialists were left out, leaving the government in the hands of parties that had received relatively little support. The government was chaired by Casares Quiroga until July 19, while Manuel Azaña was appointed President of the Republic.
Towards the Civil War
The new government resumed the reforms of the first Republican biennium, especially agrarian reform. The CNT raised the 36-hour workday and the expropriation of farms over 50 hectares. This led to lockouts, capital flight, and an increase in terrorism, both from the extreme right and leftist groups. In these circumstances, it seemed clear that an uprising was near by the military against the government, which in turn reacted by moving General Mola to Navarra and Franco to the Canary Islands, measures that demonstrated the weakness of the government, which also feared a revolutionary explosion. In March, a group of generals (Mola, Saliquet, Varela), who at the last moment would be joined by Franco, agreed to “an uprising that restored order,” the address of which went to Mola.
On the night of July 17, the garrison revolted in Morocco, initiating a coup that, having failed in many areas of Spain, would be transformed into a long civil war.